Us against the world.Being a DS9 fan

[Autistoid]

Rewatching Ds9 and I can't let the idea slip, that this show is clearly one of the best tv shows ever made. Not just significantly better than the other treks, but even compared to shows like the wire(arguably the best) the show is amazing.


You ever feel like it's us against the world being a DS9 fan. Character development and plots, that wouldn't be scene of upper tier television a decade later.

 

[BillJ]

Rewatching Ds9 and I can't let the idea slip, that this show is clearly one of the best tv shows ever made. Not just significantly better than the other treks, but even compared to shows like the wire(arguably the best) the show is amazing.

I don't really love nor hate DS9, but I don't think it comes near the best of Trek and shows like The Wire are simply in another league.

 

[Kilana2]

It's one of the best shows, agreed. But I have ceased arguing about which Star Trek show is the best. And for me it's not a competition between fans and which show is the best.
Sometimes people can't be convinced about a show. If they don't like it, they should leave it. That's why I ignore all the nuTrek movies. I don't like it, so I leave it.

As to DS9: I came to like it via reading the novels including the relaunch. So I have watched only few episode when I already read the novels. They made me want to watch the whole show. So I got myself the DVDs......

 

[Bad Thoughts]

DS9 has been, more or less, my favorite TV show since it debuted. I think it contributed a lot to current television, not just the long-form storytelling, but also the combination of realism and mysticism. I couldn't imagine much of current TV without BSG, and I couldn't imagine BSG without DS9.

That said, DS9 is a tough sell. It is viewed through the lens of Star Trek in general. Subsequently, most people will see it as imperfect Trek rather than great TV. And the serialism that makes it unique is clunky when compared to current shows. To borrow a phrase, DS9 is the "autumn of the Middle Ages:" the best that could be achieved by the era, but lacking in development when looking at the present.

 

[SpocksOddSocks]

DS9 is my favourite Trek, but it took some getting used to. It was only by the 4th series that I really felt it was great during it's initial run. At the time, I thought this was due to the earlier series being of much lower quality.... until I got round to watching the show again from the start and appreciated them much more afterwards.

I'm not certain about this "us against the world" stuff, but I so often wonder how many people dismissed it to start with as I did, and never really gave it a chance.

I find it strange that this is the show that makes the whole Star Trek universe seem at it's most realised, developed and widened with it being the most stationary.

 

[T'Girl]

My lack of appreciation for DS9 in large part comes from I simply don't like most of the main characters. It not about the actors themselves, with few exceptions I wouldn't want to spent time with the characters.

Which of them am I supposed to admire or like?

 

[dub]

Rewatching Ds9 and I can't let the idea slip, that this show is clearly one of the best tv shows ever made. Not just significantly better than the other treks, but even compared to shows like the wire(arguably the best) the show is amazing.

I'm with you as far as being the best Trek series overall. It's definitely one of the best series I've ever seen, and hands-down the best series finale I've ever seen.

Don't let the 9er h8rs get to you.

 

[Autistoid]

My lack of appreciation for DS9 in large part comes from I simply don't like most of the main characters. It not about the actors themselves, with few exceptions I wouldn't want to spent time with the characters.

Which of them am I supposed to admire or like?

I'm sorry but I can't think of a cast with more likeable and well developed characters. I literally cant.

 

[Autistoid]

DS9 is my favourite Trek, but it took some getting used to. It was only by the 4th series that I really felt it was great during it's initial run. At the time, I thought this was due to the earlier series being of much lower quality.... until I got round to watching the show again from the start and appreciated them much more afterwards.

I'm not certain about this "us against the world" stuff, but I so often wonder how many people dismissed it to start with as I did, and never really gave it a chance.

I find it strange that this is the show that makes the whole Star Trek universe seem at it's most realised, developed and widened with it being the most stationary.

Well I think a part of the issue with DS9 was that there was an intense amount of filler at the beginning rehashing overused tng plots.

Which is why I think it was such a great improvement it got the show to the next level post TOS.

 

[Orphalesion]

To me it is the "best"/most enjoyable Star Trek show. Though it was far from without flaws.

There's plenty of shows I enjoy more than DS9, but it's still pretty good.

 

[Relayer1]

My lack of appreciation for DS9 in large part comes from I simply don't like most of the main characters. It not about the actors themselves, with few exceptions I wouldn't want to spent time with the characters.

Which of them am I supposed to admire or like?

I didn't like some of the characters (and one or two of the actors). I didn't like the Bajoran religious background or the concentration on Bajoran politics.

Which made it all the more impressive that before too long I preferred it to all the other Trek shows, and still do. It's head and shoulders better.

Strangely, I felt the same way about Voyager when it started. I still don't like some of the characters, actors, premise and many of the plots...

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I would rank it about even with TNG. I'd probably put it in my top 20 of greatest TV shows ever made.

@T'Girl

Why do you require characters to be likable in order to find them interesting on a television show? Some of the greatest characters in history are completely unlikable.

There are fewer people who like DS9 because a lot of people quit it early because it wasn't like TNG and started kind of slow. It probably would have been more popular had it come out after 2001.

 

[SevrinThree]

I'm guilty of being a former DS9 basher. I absolutely hated the show when it premiered and stopped watching after only a couple episodes. I didn't like the sedentary locale, the angsty cast, or the injection of Bajoran religion. I was a staunch classic and TNG Trekkie. However, after Next Gen went off the air, I began catching periodic episodes of DS9 and was impressed with how the show had grown through the addition of the Defiant, Worf, and the Dominion War. When the DVD sets came out, I caved, and binge watched the show from start to finish -- and it has become one of my favorite Treks of all time. I think the main problems the fans had with the show were actually its greatest strengths -- its complex world building, rich character growth, and multiple story lines -- which all become much more clear and impressive when the show is watched over successive nights, something that could not be done when it originally aired. I also believe that fan attitude towards this show has evolved just as mine has -- and think that DS9 is now considered a real Trek classic and time will only continue to cement this assessment.

 

[at Quark's]

DS9 is (I think) my favorite trek series. Yet I've never felt that I had to be "against the world" to be a DS9 fan, even though it's obvious DS9 is not as "mainstream" as e.g. TNG. To each his own.

Also, I've never felt the need to 'bash' a show I don't like. If I don't like it, I simply won't watch it (after an initial effort to get into it). Hence, I only bash shows I do like

 

[tomalak301]

No I never feel like it's DS9 fans vs. the World. In fact, I find that to be a self fulfilling prophecy and it's a little annoying that that very attitude exists. DS9 has a ton of fans, and that's all that matters. Who cares what others tell you.

As for me, DS9 and TNG are my favorite treks. I remember watching DS9 (It felt like the first time) on DVD and just being in awe at some of the episodes. Right now I'm doing a DS9 rewatch and I'm finding Season 1 to be a struggle for the most part. Yeah I know there are some good episodes coming up, but other than those good episodes and a great end to the season, I'm starting to think that yeah Season 1 is my least favorite season of the series.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I didn't like DS9 when it was originally airing either, but I enjoyed it when it started airing on Spike, and even more when I was able to watch it at my own pace on Netflix.

 

[HIjol]

Nothing wrong with DS9, at all.

 

[Nightdiamond]

DS9 took some getting used to, but near the end of the 2nd season is where the shocks and cliff hangers begins to hook you.

DS9 resembles the shows of today more than the other Treks because it had little problem with character and story arcs, and it took on intense subjects more readily.


In fact I discovered even the earlier episodes were either intense or intriguing, like Duet or In the Hands of the Prophets.

 

[Amaris]

Niner for Life, here, and I have never felt that I'm up against the world for liking DS9. Not even close. Not once. Not ever. No.

 

[Orphalesion]

Why do you require characters to be likable in order to find them interesting on a television show? Some of the greatest characters in history are completely unlikable.

I can only give my two-cents on this. There is "unlikable" and just plain unlikable.

Some characters you can find enjoyable, despite them being despicable people because they are entertaining, interesting or otherwise contribute to the storyline in a great manner.

Ghul Dukat is one of those, to me at least, most of the Vortas, Kai Winn, the Founders, etc.

Then there's characters who are just plain unlikable to some people, because they are not as interesting/charming/"cool" as the creator's writer's think they are.

To me the two DS9 characters who fit into that category were Jadzia and Sisko. Early Bashir as well, when his whole character consisted just of "wanting to bone Jadzia"